About The Author

The author of these stories, N. C. Rangaswami (1891-1965), served the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Chennai, India. Mr. Rangaswami was a tireless crusader for animal rights and justice. His entire life was spent in service with SPCA, with a 12-hour, 7-day-week service to the Society. He toured throughout India, giving talks and lectures which were illustrated with slide projectors, which were known back then as "magic lantern". He managed to prevent, on numerous occasions,  cruelty to animals and animal sacrifices in religious rituals, often at grave personal risk.  He was author and publisher of two books, Kindness to Animals and Stories of Kindness to Animals. His article "Sri Krishna, the Divine Cowherd", was also published by Journal of Royal SPCA, London. To him, Krishna, the Divine Cowherd, and Jesus Christ, the Divine Shepherd were not mere dramatis personae in mythological / religious stories. They had a supreme purpose in their very birth. In appreciation of his life-long dedication and service, the (British) Government of India conferred upon him the title of Rao Sahib on January 2, 1933 (picture shown above).   Mr. N. C. Rangaswami was born as the second son of a gentleman named N. C. Srinivasachari, who migrated to the Mylapore area in Chennai and started a children’s school. In the  year 1905, the school was handed over to a capable and eminent person named Pennathur Subramaniam, and this school is now known as “P.S. High School”, a well-known school in Chennai. After that, Mr. Srinivasachari settled down in Tiruvallur and set up practice as a legal practitioner, since he had to earn a living and look after his large family of four sons and two daughters. He had a lucrative practice, but he eventually donated most of his earnings to charity. His first child died while young. The second son was Mr. Rangaswami, the author of these stories. The third and fourth sons, Krishnaswami and Narasimhan continued the legal profession in Thiruvallur. Many of their descendants live to this day in that town, including an eminent person by the name of Mr. N. C. Sridharan. As a young man, imbibing the qualities of the heart more than intellect, Mr. Rangaswami joined service in SPCA in Chennai. Though not wanting in intellect or academic capability, he simply eschewed more lucrative professions such as being an advocate, businessman, government official, etc. To him the new job was more a mission than just work to earn a living. The twin qualities of compassion and nobility having been there already in his soul, his heart dictated his activities, performed with the active cooperation of his young wife Kothai Ammal, who hailed from Nellore, in today’s Andhra Pradesh.   Initially Mr. Rangaswami made a daily journey to SPCA office at Madras from Thiruvallur. Eventually, however, he moved to Madras with his own, now large family, consisting of his wife, three sons and two daughters, settling down in the Chennai locale of Thiruvallikeni.   Name and fame were farthest from Rangaswami's mind. His duty lay in the cause of dumb animals. He left for office very early in the mornings. He had to catch one of the earliest tram cars from Triplicane terminus to reach Vepery. Some tram drivers would even wait for him as they had known him by identity. Punctuality was a habit and, wearing a turban, punctiliousness about his dress was also his distinct trait. It was often mentioned that he resembled the then Presidency College Professor, S. Radhakrishnan, who later became the President of India. Active involvement and a deep sense of dedication exposed him to the risk of personal injury on many occasions, and yet he carried on. Many anecdotes have been mentioned about him, some of which are shared below. So sensitive was he to acts of cruelty to animals that Mr. Rangaswami would insist on being present at the trial of offenders by the Honorary Presidency Magistrates, lest they should let the culprits off with a light punishment, in a casual manner. And, with his easy rapport with the Veterinary Doctors, he would also attend to the medical treatment of the injured animals. The months of December were celebrated in Madras City with exhibitions, athletic competitions and races at the SIAA Grounds near Moore Market. Among the races were sensational events called "Rekhla Races", in which two-wheelers drawn by bullocks and horses participated. Though provided with complimentary entry passes, Mr. Rangaswami never occupied the vantage seat in the gallery to witness the spectacle. On the contrary, he would be in  the thick of these events to prevent cruelties. The drivers of bullock-drawn vehicles would carry a short bamboo stick with a sharp iron nail to goad the animals. Pony drivers would have whips fastened with sharp metallic tips. Mr. Rangaswami would, with his sharp eyes, detect them and dispossess the competitors of such lethal instruments before the races began, and sometimes even during the very course of such races. Not a day passed without acquisition of such “souvenirs” for decades when the competitions were held. If he heard that in some place animals were to be offered as sacrifice as part of religious rituals, at times by some notoriously violent groups, he would go personally in the teeth of protest from his near ones and prevent animal sacrifices by appealing to the people concerned. Many an evening he would trek to the remote slum areas of Chennai and prevent the brutal killing of pigs which would otherwise have been beaten to death. He persuaded the Corporation of Madras to install electric crematoriums for killing stray dogs, but did not succeed in introducing humane killing in the slaughter of animals for food. He would spend the mornings with magistrates for getting the offenders punished, and in the evenings he would spend time with school children telling them stories of kindness to animals with his “lantern lectures”. He was a man of considerable personal integrity. The following are some of the anecdotes mentioned about his ways of discipline, and incorruptible behavior. On his office table, he used to keep separate sets of office pin cushions, one for office use, and one for personal use.  When he made a personal telephone call from the office, he would promptly drop two annas into the office Hundi box. When he was provided with a van, if his office work took him to Mount Road (now Anna Saalai), he would halt and send back the van to the Office to get into a tram car to return home, without ever using the office van for incidental personal use.      On one occasion, a horse carriage pulled up before his house, from which an elderly gentleman alighted, accompanied by an assistant carrying plates with fruits, flowers, and sweets. Mr. Rangaswami asked him to take them back, and replace them in the carriage. The carriage had been sent by the head of a religious mutt, and Mr. Rangaswami tactfully reprimanded him, mentioning it was most unbecoming of him to offer a bribe to drop prosecution of his driver for an offence of cruelty to his pony.  Thus, it is a great privilege for me to share both the stories, and some details of the unusual man behind the stories. -  N. C. Suresh Buffalo, NY July 31, 2014